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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25776511">Snapshots of a life, Lived</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption'>catrasredemption (dimensionhoppingrose)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Cuddles, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), One-Shot Series, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, cameos from other characters but not enough to tag properly, so much cute, standalone stories</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:13:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25776511</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Various one-shots featuring Catra and Adora as they try to build a life together without letting the past weigh them down - sometimes easier said than done.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>255</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. On The Question of Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I decided to take a few prompts on Tumblr and someone asked if I was going to post them on AO3 and... sure, why not? They're shorter than what I usually write/post on AO3, but they're mostly written in ten minutes stories, so... we'll see how this goes lol.</p><p>Prompt: catra and adora in their space roadtrip discussing what they'll do if they find Adora's family? (glimbow can be there or asleep w/e)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>“My what?” Adora tilts her head, thinking for a moment. “<em>Oh</em>...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you serious? You haven’t thought about it at <em>all</em>?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Not really?” Adora shrugs. Catra rolls her eyes. Of <em>course</em>. “Why would I?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Because we’re in space - the place <em>you’re</em> from - and there are a billion planets and the universe likes to fuck with us?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Adora rolls to lie on her back, raising an eyebrow at Catra. “Why are <em>you</em> thinking about it?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Be<em>cause </em>we’re in space and there’s a billion planets and the universe likes to fuck with us?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I guess it never really occurred to me.” Another shrug. “I mean... what <em>could</em> I do? Do I even really want to know? I’m happy with the family I have, you know? You and Glimmer and Bow and the princesses... I guess I’m not really that worried about finding my birth parents or whatever.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Catra stares at Adora for a long moment before falling back to lie on the bed, rolling to press her face into her pillow. “Of course.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Adora blinks a few times, surprised. “Of course what?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Of course you’re like... <em>that</em> about it.” Her voice is undeniably bitter. Adora takes a deep breath, pinches the bridge of her nose, and counts to ten. She sits up to look at her girlfriend, eyebrow raised.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you want to have a conversation without acting like a brat, or?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Catra is quiet for a long moment. “Sorry,” she finally mutters. Adora rests a hand on her knee.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s okay. Just... say what you mean. Please.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Adora does her best not to let the silence get to her. She knows Catra is just trying to get her thoughts together, to not let her angry, bitter thoughts get the better of her. They’ve talked about a lot about this.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Catra’s arms wrap around her pillow, holding it tight for a moment. “I just... you... you probably have this amazing family, and you deserve one, you probably would’ve had a great life if it didn’t get all fucked up. So what if you meet them and they’re great and you...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Like them better than you?” Catra doesn’t answer. Adora flops down on top of her, holding her tight.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Ow! Get off, you’re crushing me!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Good.” Adora gets comfortable, arms sliding easily around Catra’s waist. “When are you going to understand that there isn’t anything better than you?” Catra scoffs. “It’s true! Okay, fine, let’s say we somehow miraculously find my birth planet somewhere in all these planets, and my birth parents are great. Then what? Do you think I’m just going to leave my entire life on Etheria? Leave <em>you</em>? You’ve <em>always</em> been my family, Catra. And I’ll sit on top of you all night if that’s what it takes to make you realize that I’m not leaving, not for anything.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Silence falls. “I can’t breathe,” Catra finally wheezes. Adora rolls onto her side, pulling Catra with her so Catra’s back is pressed to her chest. Catra’s hands come up to press against hers, and she curls in slightly, taking a deep breath.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I know you won’t leave, but what if... what if you see what you could’ve had? What if you start to hate us for it?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You’re not the ones who kidnapped me and took me to another planet in a pocket dimension. And I <em>like</em> the life I have now. I <em>really</em> like the life I have with you. If my birth family happens to be good then... I dunno, that’s great, I guess. But they’re never going to be worth leaving the home and family I already have. Okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Catra keeps her head down, hands still resting over Adora’s. “Why do you always have to be perfect?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her tone is a little lighter, though. Adora smiles, hugging her closer. “Because I know it annoys you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I hate you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do nooooooot,” Adora sings, pushing herself up to lean over and press a kiss to Catra’s cheek.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uuuuuugh, shut up.” Catra’s clearly struggling not to laugh as she shoves Adora’s face away.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Say you like me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Say iiiiiiiiiit!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>No</em>!”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Unique Comfort</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Catra comforting Adora sometime in the near future? I feel Adora still hasn't fully learned to not pretend she's fine when she isn't.</p><p>https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/625728976616374272/catra-comforting-adora-sometime-in-the-near</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>It was easy to tell when Adora was having a bad day.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not because she let on about it, of course. If someone said, “Adora jump”, her immediate response would be, “How high?” with a smile and no indication that she was exhausted or just wanted to curl up in a corner.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But she had her own emotional support cat to let everyone know to back off.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Adora could smile all she wanted, but Catra knew her better than anyone. She knew when Adora had nightmares, even if Adora didn’t wake up screaming and panicking. Rolling over to comfort her never did any good. She just said she was okay and curled in on herself, shutting down.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So, Catra did the next best thing. She put herself between Adora and the world, her tail usually wrapped around Adora’s wrist in silent support, and anyone who even wanted to say Adora’s <em>name</em> had to look at Catra first to make sure there wouldn’t be some weird distraction (like a vase falling seemingly for no reason - Melog, everyone assumed). Adora was blessedly oblivious most of the time. Sometimes she thought about how weird it was that Catra was staying extra close to her, but she was always thought that was for Catra’s comfort, not her own.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey, are you okay?” she asked uncertainly one night as they were getting ready for bed. “I mean, you’ve been kind of... I dunno. Attached to me all week. You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong, right?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Catra scoffed. “You’re such a hypocrite,” she muttered as she dropped into bed, face down, arms wrapped around her pillow. Adora raised an eyebrow.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What’s that supposed to mean?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Nothing. Let’s just sleep. I’m tired.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, it’s not nothing,” Adora insisted, grabbing the pillow and yanking it from Catra’s grip. “What’s going on?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t know, that’s the problem.” Catra sat up and fixed her with a hard stare - not an angry one, exactly, just hard and unreadable.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You don’t know what’s wrong?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, because you won’t tell me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I won’t-? I’m fine, though!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Like I said.” Catra took her pillow back and flopped down again. “I’m not stupid, Adora. I know when you have nightmares and I know when you’re upset, even if you don’t want to admit it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Adora stared at her, blinking a few times. “Is that why you...” she pokes Catra’s tail. It twitches slightly, then bats lightly at her hand. “I’m fine, though. Really.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh yeah? What were you dreaming about last night? And before you ask, you kept muttering my name in your sleep.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p><em>Oh</em>. Adora’s heart dropped to her stomach. She swallowed hard, looking away. “It doesn’t-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It <em>matters</em>, Adora. But if you still won’t take care of yourself, then fine. I’ll just do it for you until you get the idea.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She rolled over, tail still swishing slightly before wrapping around Adora’s wrist once more. Adora stared at it for a moment, tears filling her eyes, and finally joined Catra, pulling her close, arms wrapped around her waist.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Horde Prime was still controlling you.” Her ears flicked slightly to indicate she was listening. “But it was... <em>worse</em>. You’d gone over the edge of the bridge, you were... I don’t know, dying or dead, but he was still controlling you, moving you around like some weird puppet. It all felt so real, and I...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She shuddered, voice breaking into an almost sob. Catra hesitated for a moment before rolling over, squirming just a little. Adora let her go at once, surprised. “What’re you-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Shush.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She tugged Adora closer, pillowing the blonde’s head on her chest, ear pressed against the spot right over her heart. Adora could hear the steady, reassuring beat - an unmistakable sign that Catra was, in fact, alive. That this was real, this was her reality. And it wasn’t too bad. She smiled slightly, closing her eyes and whispering, “Sap.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Shut up.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Missing Scenes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: how about adora and/or catra filling out each other on scenes they never saw each other in? for example adora telling catra about breaking her sword and what led to it (light hope, mara etc), or catra telling adora about getting almost sent to beast island or taking hordak's throne</p><p>https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/625738895562358784/how-about-adora-andor-catra-filling-out-each</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What happened to the sword?”</p><p>It was a new thing they were trying out as part of their open and honest communication attempts. Five questions each, per week. They were each allowed one veto on a question they weren’t comfortable with answering or weren’t ready to face.</p><p>“Light Hope was trying to use me to activate the Heart of Etheria and destroy the planet. I refused to be their weapon, so I broke the sword. No She-Ra to connect the princesses meant the Heart was useless.”</p><p>“Light Hope... the bitch who trapped us in the castle?”</p><p>Adora snorted, burying her face in Catra’s floof of hair. They were lying in bed together, cuddling - it was always easier to talk this way. “She was... complicated. It’s not her fault the First Ones made her that way.”</p><p>“Yeah, well. No offense to her, but I won’t lose any sleep. She was messing with our heads on purpose.”</p><p>She was. It had taken Adora a long time to realize that. All her talk about <em>letting go</em>... she had purposely shown their worst memories, the ones that made Catra feel terrible about herself, just to drive her away.</p><p>Adora took a deep breath. They usually asked one question each, unless one of them was just too tired to unpack things. And she already knew the answer to this one anyway.</p><p>“What happened after you sent Glimmer away from Horde Prime?”</p><p>“Pass.”</p><p>The answer is immediate. She’s never answered it. Adora didn’t think she ever would.</p><p>* * * * * * * *</p><p>“What happened after the portal? I mean, I got bits and pieces from Scorpia, but...”</p><p>Catra laughed humorlessly. “Oh, nothing really, I just had a complete meltdown. I think the breaking point was when I flipped out at Scorpia. We were trying to find some data disc or something that we thought Entrapta might’ve left behind, and Scorpia said she found it in Emily - which I’m starting to question that story since Emily is still <em>around </em>- but she broke the disc trying to get it out - you know, pincers and all, not great for delicate work.</p><p>“And I... lost it. Just completely and utterly freaked the fuck out. Hordak was already ticked off and now I couldn’t even give him the data he wanted and get him off my damn back. So she came to me with the broken disc and I went off. Screamed at her for at least a minute about how useless she was and she... just stood there. When I was done, she called me a bad friend, and she walked away.”</p><p>Catra curled up, sighing. “She wasn’t wrong.”</p><p>“Not that I support getting anyone else in trouble, but he must have been at least a little ticked off that Scorpia messed up.” Silence. Adora raised an eyebrow. “What?”</p><p>“I didn’t tell him it was Scorpia. I took the blame.”</p><p>Adora raised herself to look down at Catra, blinking. “<em>Why</em>?”</p><p>“Because she was right. I was a bad friend. She didn’t deserve that.”</p><p>“How much trouble did you get in?”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.” Catra sighed. “Don’t tell her. Please.”</p><p>Adora settled back in with her, holding her tight. “I won’t.” It was in the past, Scorpia didn’t need that guilt, and the things they talked about in here were for them only. No one else had to know.</p><p>* * * * * * * *</p><p>“Why did you come back for me?”</p><p>Adora very nearly said pass. “I mean... is that not obvious by now?” She tried to joke instead. Catra sighed.</p><p>“I saw you turning around, Adora. Horde Prime couldn’t track you exactly but he had a general sense of your location. I saw the ship on his map. You were leaving.”</p><p>Of course she wouldn’t let it go that easily. “We ended up on this planet looking for crystals to power Darla, and I met these siblings who were running away from Horde Prime. Even before that I was already thinking I wanted to go back for you, but I didn’t know how to tell Glimmer and Bow, and they had their own drama going on. Listening to the siblings and the way they talked about Horde Prime, though... how was I supposed to just leave you there? I know you did bad things, but abandoning you to suffer for the rest of your life wasn’t exactly a fair trade.”</p><p>“Yes it was.”</p><p>“No, it wasn’t.” Adora grabbed Catra’s arms, gently but firmly. “I knew before we got Glimmer back on the ship that I wanted to go back for you. I didn’t even know you were <em>there</em>, but the second I found out, it was all I could think about. Just you, alone, on that ship, left to his mercy. How could I leave you?” Tears filled Adora’s eyes; she hid her face in Catra’s hair. “How could you ever think I would leave you there?”</p><p>Catra swallowed hard, trying to ignore the lump in her throat, and pressed closer to Adora, winding her arms around the blonde’s waist.</p><p>“Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me, huh?”</p><p>Adora laughed weakly. “Kind of.”</p><p>“Was it the apology? I thought that might have been over the top, but I just kind of... hoped maybe you could have a better last memory of me.”</p><p>“The apology didn’t help your ‘just leave me’ thing, but... I probably would have gone back anyway.”</p><p>Catra scoffed. “You’re such a <em>hero</em>.”</p><p>“Yup. I’ll always go back for you. Sorry.”</p><p>“No, you’re not.”</p><p>No, she wasn’t.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Nine Lives</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: oKAYOKAYOKAY, what if adora thinks catra’s dead but catra is (get this) NOT dead and they reunite or something. i have a thing for angst w/ happy endings what can i say</p><p> </p><p>https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/630914562487681025/okayokayokay-what-if-adora-thinks-catras-dead</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really liked the concept of this one and I might be tinkering with a sequel so idk, speak up if you want to see that</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She never said she was hurt.</p><p>That was what Adora thought about, during her more bitter moments, when she tried to focus on the thought that Catra had left her, rather than Catra had…</p><p>She must have been in so much pain. The security monster, Horde’s virus, they were meant to kill <em>She-Ra</em>, to destroy an entire planet. Catra, with her mostly normal, albeit cat-like physiology, with her <em>normal</em> body, never stood a chance.</p><p>Adora wondered how long she had forced herself to hold on. How long she had been hurting. Had she forced herself to work through it the entire way to the Heart? Had adrenaline kept her from feeling the pain until she was finally able to relax? Had she felt even a moment of relief, thinking that Adora had fixed the entire planet, so surely she must have fixed <em>her</em> as well, before it all came rushing back?</p><p>
  <em>Catra had been leaning on Adora, out of exhaustion, Adora had assumed. She was about to suggest they leave the small celebration and find somewhere to sleep when Catra’s full weight collapsed onto her,a high-pitched noise ripping through her throat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Catra!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The world disappeared around them as Adora caught her trembling body, lowering her to the ground. “Catra, what-”</em>
</p><p><em>Her voice died in her throat when she saw the vivid green marks on Catra’s leg</em>.</p><p>One last “screw you” from Horde Prime, and from the universe. She-Ra wasn’t allowed to have a happy ending. She couldn’t save the planet <em>and</em> have the love of her life. It wasn’t fair. It was <em>selfish</em>.</p><p><em>She wasn’t dead. Not </em>really<em>. After days of a burning fever and untreatable pain, she’d stopped breathing. The virus had crawled into her heart, the healers said. Adora had tried to heal her several times, and had failed every time. It was only a combination of magic and technology (that Entrapta had worked on day and night for nearly a week) that brought her back and kept her breathing.</em></p><p>
  <em>Brain dead. Dead for all intents and purposes, but kept alive by various outside forces. She wouldn’t recover. Nothing Adora did was enough. It would be kinder to let her go, a healer had gently explained (then immediately backed away when Adora’s eyes had flared dangerously).</em>
</p><p>Melog lifted their head from Catra’s leg, dull eyes meeting Adora’s. they hadn’t left her side since she had been settled into the room four months earlier. Mystacor really was the best place for her, everyone had said, trying to convince Adora. They had resources Bright Moon didn’t. And they were slightly more accepting of Wrong Hordak, whom Entrapta had left to take care of day to day maintenance on various machines.</p><p>Which meant it was also Adora’s home for the two days a week she took off. She had a room across the hall from Catra’s, but more often than not, she fell asleep in the chair beside her bed.</p><p>“Hey Melog.” She scratched their head tiredly, falling into her usually seat. Melog’s mane was a dull gray, the light behind their eyes significantly dulled. No one knew if the alien cat needed food or not - the healers had left a variety of foods for them, and they never ate, but they also never seemed to lose weight or get sick, so either they were disappearing to get food when no one was paying attention, or they really just hadn’t eaten in four months.</p><p>Melog made a small, mournful noise, nudging Adora’s hand. “I know.” She couldn’t understand them, of course, but they all more or less knew the gist of what Melog was thinking at any given moment - they missed Catra. She was the first person they’d had any kind of connection with since Horde Prime attacked Krytis. Adora couldn’t begin to imagine how they felt now, with a dead emotional connection in the back of their head.</p><p>“Do you think I’m crazy? For not letting go?” They had this conversation every time Adora visited - well, <em>she</em> had this conversation, and Melog listened. Adora wondered what would happen to them if Catra really did die - no more magic, no more technology, nothing keeping her alive, keeping her heart beating. “Would you be okay if she was gone?”</p><p>Melog let out a long, keening noise. </p><p>“Yeah.” Adora turned to look back at Catra’s slack, pale face. “I wouldn’t be either.”<br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/>Catra wouldn’t want to be kept alive like this, and they all knew it. She wouldn’t want Adora wasting her time sitting over her, waiting for something that would never happen. She’d want them all to move on and live.</p><p>And so Adora finally agreed to let them take away all the spells and the machines, and let Catra die peacefully. She didn’t want to be there for it. No one really blamed her. Glimmer had assured Adora that she would be there, holding Catra’s hand until she was truly gone. Adora appreciated it, even if she hadn’t been able to say as much. Glimmer and Bow had just hugged her until she stopped crying.</p><p>Adora was in Salineas, working on the Sea Gate with Mermista. It was almost repaired. “So,” Mermista said after an uncertain moment. “Catra.”</p><p>It was no secret that the princess had very complicated feelings about Catra. But she’d never wished death on anyone. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Adora said flatly.</p><p>“Yeah, of course, don’t blame you. Just… if you need anything… you know.”</p><p>Adora smiled weakly despite herself. “I know. Thanks.”</p><p>They were silent for a few minutes as Adora finished restoring power to the gate. </p><p>“<em>Adora</em>!”</p><p>She nearly fell over as Glimmer appeared beside her, screaming. “Glimmer! What-”</p><p>The queen was already grabbing her hand and teleporting her away, leaving a very confused Mermista behind.</p><p>“Glimmer,” Adora complained, yanking away as soon as they landed. She didn’t need to look around to know where they were. “You know I didn’t want to-”</p><p>“-stop <em>poking</em> me, Entrapta, for fuck’s sake-”</p><p>Adora stopped, mouth hanging open. She didn’t recall making a conscious decision to change back, but She-Ra was gone, leaving a very confused and cautiously hopeful young woman in her place. <em>No</em>. It couldn’t be…</p><p>“Queen coming through!” Glimmer said shamelessly, shoving Adora passed the healers and straight to Catra’s bedside. Entrapta was hovering around her machines, talking a mile a minute to her recorder and a very confused Wrong Hordak. Exhausted blue and amber eyes met Adora’s stunned gaze.</p><p>“Hey Adora.”</p><p>Catra’s voice was weak and cracked on both words. She was sitting up in the bed, supported by several pillows. Melog was on her legs, mane glowing a brilliant blue. She wasn’t hallucinating. She was alive. <em>She was alive</em>.</p><p>Glimmer gave her a small push, and Adora stumbled forward, all but throwing herself at Catra and hugging her tight. Wrong Hordak grabbed Catra’s shoulder to help her stay sitting up as Adora nearly knocked her over. “<em>Ow</em> - hey, take it easy-”</p><p>“<em>How</em>?” Adora breathed, voice thick with tears. Everyone had said it was impossible. She wouldn’t survive. <em>How was this possible?</em></p><p>Catra was quiet for a few moments before a weak arm raised to hold Adora as tight as possible. </p><p>“Cats have nine lives, you know?”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Who Hurt You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
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          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Someday I'll get all of these added here lol.</p><p>https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/633712576733364224/can-you-do-this-for-catradora-if-you-havent</p><p>TW: Torture, Blood</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Not all planets welcomed their savior.</p><p>They’d been ambushed almost as soon as they landed, knocked out and separated. Adora woke up alone, arms chained above her head, struggling against the bindings as she glared up at her captors.</p><p>“Where are my friends?”</p><p>Her question was met with a solid punch to the mouth. Adora was no stranger to taking hits, as herself and as She-Ra, but damn it, She-Ra might have made her a little soft. That blow hurt far more than it had any right to. She swallowed, ignoring the taste of blood and the strand of hair that fell in front of her face.</p><p>“<em>Where</em>-”</p><p>The alien - a <em>tall</em>, humanoid creature with pale blue skin - yelled at her in a language she didn’t understand, shoving a gun in her face. She didn’t need to speak the language to hear the intent, though - <em>shut up or I’ll shoot</em>.</p><p>Adora shut her mouth. She couldn’t save her friends if she was dead.</p><p>Another one came in, and the two spoke, throwing glares in Adora’s direction. It wasn’t the first time they had encountered a hostile planet. Not even the first time they had been captured. They could get out of this, just like they always did.</p><p>Adora struggled with her bindings, trying to channel some of She-Ra’s strength to break the chains. But the aliens seemed to guess at her intentions - they hit her every time she felt a sliver of energy, breaking her concentration and forcing her to start over. Her face was bruised and swollen within an hour, and she was starting to resent She-Ra. She was definitely getting soft. Maybe she needed to fight as herself more often.</p><p>She closed her eyes, trying to take a deep breath and center herself. Just one rush of energy, and she would be able to-</p><p>
  <em>Wham!</em>
</p><p>The butt of a gun slammed into her cheek. Stars burst to life before her eyes, blood filling her mouth. She coughed, spitting out the blood. And all she could think was, <em>Please let the others be okay</em>.</p><p>She needed to regroup. If they kept beating her, she was never going to get out. <em>Let them think you’re beat</em>. She swore she could hear Catra’s cunning voice in her head. <em>Let them think you’re weak. Make them let their guard down. Act weak</em>.</p><p>Not Adora’s style, but Catra was good at getting out of tight scrapes. She listened to the voice, letting her shoulders slump, doing her best to look defeated. That seemed to satisfy them.</p><p>Adora waited, eyes down, as she listened to the voices of her captors…</p><p>And then the sound of claws cutting through a metal door drew their attention. The door nearly crushed them both as they stumbled back, guns readied. The attacker cleanly cut through those as well, shoving the captors aside.</p><p>It was Catra. Of course it was Catra. She didn’t have to wait for an imaginary voice to give her her own advice. Adora could hear the sound of fighting out in the hall - she must have found Glimmer and Bow already. Good. Everyone was okay.</p><p>“Hey,” she tried to say as Catra kneeled in front of her, but she was cut off by Catra gently cradling her chin, thumb brushing away some blood at the corner of her mouth. There was a dark hatred in her eyes that Adora hadn’t seen in a long time.</p><p>Something about it was scarier when it wasn’t directed at her.</p><p>“Who did this to you?”</p><p>Her voice was quiet and calm - eerily calm. Adora’s breath caught, her heart jumping, and her eyes flicked uncertainly to the groaning guards. Catra looked to them as well, narrowing her gaze. A quick swipe of claws cut cleanly through the chains keeping Adora’s arms restrained (she always forgot that Catra could <em>cut through metal</em>), then stood, crossing the room with effortless grace, grabbing the closest guard and slamming him into the wall.</p><p>“<em>That’s</em> how you treat the person who saved your worthless life from Horde Prime?” Could they even understand her? Did it matter? The second guard drew himself up, readying his gun; Catra swung at him without even looking, slashing into his chest. He screamed as green blood poured from the open wound.</p><p>Catra was Adora’s best friend. She had <em>always</em> been Adora’s best friend. She was soft and enjoyed cuddles and pretended to tolerate people scratching her ears (which she secretly loved). She still hated water, but tolerated the hot springs at Mystacor because Adora made her feel better and the water was warm, a complete contrast to the cold fluid of Prime’s pool. She acted like group hugs were a huge inconvenience while purring audibly.</p><p>Catra was also the former leader of the Horde. She had broken a years-long stalemate and almost brought Bright Moon to its knees. She had fought Hordak, and Shadow Weaver, and death itself, and come out on top every time. She had taken over the Crimson Waste in a day. She was merciless. She could and would set aside all personal feelings in the name of winning a battle.</p><p>Catra <em>would</em> kill them if given the chance.</p><p>Adora tore her hands free of the manacles without thinking, thrusting a hand up as she yelled, “For the honor of Grayskull!”</p><p>One guard was whimpering on the floor, clutching at his bleeding wound. The other was still against the wall, Catra rearing back to slice him open as well before Adora grabbed her wrist.</p><p>“It’s not worth it,” she insisted quietly, giving Catra a tug. It was harder than it should have been to pull her away. “Let’s get out of here.”</p><p>Something told her it wouldn’t be a problem to escape.</p><p>The look on Catra’s face argued that it was in fact <em>very</em> much worth it, but she finally released the guard, allowing Adora to drag her away. Glimmer and Bow were waiting in the hall, surrounded by unconscious guards. They eyed Catra uncertainly, then looked at Adora, who shook her head.</p><p>They’d deal with it later.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompts are currently open on Tumblr if you want to send one in! https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/ask</p></blockquote></div></div>
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